In the locker room and right before we took the field to play in the Icelandic Cup Championship, our head coach ended his motivational speech with the short but internationally known Beastie Boys verse, “Girls, you gotta fight for your right to partyyyyyyy!” Only mere seconds after the referee’s final whistle blew the celebrations commenced. Coaches, staff, and players alike took those famous lyrics to heart as we all partied together into the wee hours of the night…

The champagne that was waiting for us in our locker room after being officially awarded the Icelandic Cup trophy!

We also had an awesome catered banquet at our home, Stjarnan facilities that same night

The party started early and ended late – just like any proper Icelandic get-together

Of course – there was never a shortage of beverages ; )

Gull – brewed in Iceland but dubbed the best standard lager in the world (cool fact)

Stjarnan blue flowers as a parting gift

Been at it since 8:00 PM until 2:30 AM…still flying high from the win and ready to brave the dance clubs of downtown Reykjavik (after parties and after-after parties included)

Afram Stjarnan

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The long-awaited and highly anticipated day had finally arrived, The Icelandic Cup Final. Although the weather gods seemed to be against us, nothing – not the heavy rain, strong winds, nor chilling temperatures – could stifle the collective excitement we felt as we prepared to face off against our biggest rival, Valur. With the heartbreaking overtime loss we suffered to Valur in regular season play still fresh in our minds, it seemed only fitting that we would have one last opportunity to hopefully exact revenge, gain ultimate bragging rights, and make history as the first Stjarnan FC team to ever be crowned The Icelandic Cup Champions.

From kick-off to the 90th minute, the game was incredibly fast-paced and extremely physical. There were moments where I caught myself wondering if I was indeed playing in the Icelandic Cup Final or whether I was battling in what felt like the Hunger Games come to life (if any of you have witnessed an “Icelandic slide-tackle” you would understand why). Despite the brutality of the match, the odds were ever in our favor and with less than 10 minutes remaining on the clock our attacking center-midfielder rocketed a shot from 25 yards out with Katniss-Everdeen-like precision into the upper V. Thankfully, we were able to weather the barrage of desperate, last-minute attacks our opponent mounted and hold on to our narrow 1-0 lead as the final whistle blew…

We did it! We made history! We were the Icelandic Cup Champions for the first time ever!

Another Icelandic rap song – we wish we could understand the lyrics!

With the upcoming championship game weighing heavily on our minds, we decided to lighten the mood a little and visit the famous Icelandic Phallological Museum (otherwise known as the Penis Museum in layman’s terms). Can’t say we learned much of anything but we definitely got a few good laughs…hope you guys do too : )

On our way – do we seem too excited?

Some type of whale you-know-what – WOWZER!

Shocking, gross, & a little disturbing all at once!

Well, I’m sure you guys are starting to get the picture!

National Icelandic Men’s Handball Team – no shame

Poor little fox…

Just when the phrase, “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”, started to ring true…we walked into a room full of elf, witch, changeling, and ghost one-eyed monsters! Even got a picture with Santa Claus (but we wanted to spare him the embarrassment).

Watch out – V’s armed and dangerous!

One of a kind gift shop – we really wanted to purchase this gem for our apartment ; )

We were driving to practice one day during the week leading up to the weekend’s epic Icelandic Cup Final & look who we found…

Getting more and more excited by the minute for the big game!! Afram Stjarnan!!

Although a lot has happened over the past couple of weeks, internet problems at home coupled with some serious procrastination have caused a slight delay in our blog posts. Now that it is up and running again and we are back on track from our mini-vacation, we want to fill you guys in on all of our latest Icelandic & Spanish adventures!

First and foremost, our men’s team made it to the final of the Icelandic Cup for the first time in Stjarnan’s history. Our team met for a celebratory brunch beforehand and we all went to the game together to cheer the men to victory. It was a beautiful day for the championship match at the Icelandic National Stadium, Laugardalsvollur. Stjarnan dominated the majority of the 90 minutes but unfortunately could not finish the countless opportunities they created in front of goal, even missing a potentially game-changing penalty kick. Despite the 1-2 loss, we had a blast cheering on our Stjarnan counterparts and got to see where we would be playing in just a short week’s time. We left the stadium feeling both optimistic and hopeful that the result of the Women’s Icelandic Cup Final would be in our favor…

Another song…just in case any of you back home are taking a liking to Icelandic rap : )

Where the majority of our workouts take place…doesn’t get much better than this!

After our game last Tuesday night, some of the girls decided to go “sea-bathing” (the Icelandic equivalent of ice bathing, except way cooler)! Forget the tediousness of having to fill a hotel bathtub with buckets of ice or the mundanity of sitting in an overly crowded whirlpool in an athletic training room, in Iceland all you have to do is drive minutes to the nearest beach and dive right into the freezing water of the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a beautiful night to notch another three key points against the sixth placed team in the league, HF Hafnarf Jardar. Not only did we come away with a decisive 7-1 victory, V and I also tallied our long-awaited and much-anticipated first points for the Stjarnan statistic book! V had two characteristically beautiful assists and I scored two lackluster goals off of set pieces.

Admittedly, I robbed V of a goal when she beat her defender and headed the ball with conviction towards the back of the net. The keeper was clearly beat, however, there was a defender in mid-swing on the goal line ready to clear the ball to safety. Making a split second decision, I decided there was nothing left for me to do but rob V of all her hard work and tap the ball in as a necessary precaution. Looking back on the play, I think my reaction was underscored less by cautious forethought and more by a center back’s desire for a fleeting moment of glory.

Thankfully, my roommate and teammate has since forgiven me and we are able to look back on this night as a memorable stage of our Icelandic journey.